Mark Morris Dance Group's L'ALLEGRO, IL PENSEROSO ED IL MODERATO Set for Luminato Festival, Now thru June 23

Luminato Festival will host the Canadian premiere of the Mark Morris Dance Group's iconic L'ALLEGRO, IL PENSEROSO ED IL MODERATO. The performances will run from today, June 21-23 at the Sony Centre For The Performing Arts, as part of the 7th Annual Luminato Festival.

The New York based Mark Morris Dance Group is one the most revered and highly celebrated modern dance companies in the world, and has earned international acclaim for an impressive spectrum of productions in dance and opera. L'ALLEGRO is widely considered one of the great dance works of the twentieth century.

"L'Allegro is Mark Morris' magnum opus and Luminato Festival is proud to present it in Canada for the first time," said Jorn Weisbrodt, Artistic Director, Luminato Festival. "L'Allegro is the perfect fusion of music and movement where Mark Morris creates a paradisiacal state of human existence through dance. Just as you would not miss an art exhibition of one of the great masters, you should not miss L'Allegro."

The music, one of Handel's most ravishing works, will be performed live by Toronto's own Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir, conducted by Jane Glover with soloists Karina Gauvin, Shannon Mercer, Thomas Cooley and Douglas Williams.

Since its creation in 1988, choreographer Mark Morris' legendary L'ALLEGRO, IL PENSEROSO ED IL MODERATO has earned global recognition as his company's crowning achievement. Morris' singular interpretation of the oratorio, combining Handel's music with John Milton's cosmic poetry, William Blake's luminous paintings, and Morris' two dozen dancers, is at once joyous, exhilarating and profound.

Exalted as "one of the great dance works of the twentieth century" by The New Yorker and "a modern miracle" by the Huffington Post, Morris' bold, brilliant masterpiece will mark its 25th anniversary by making its Canadian debut at Luminato Festival.

The Mark Morris Dance Group will also present the L'Allegro Movement Project, a Luminato Festival Education & Outreach project, on June 19 at Daniel's Spectrum at 7pm - FREE.
A Conversation with Mark Morris will take place at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on June 19 as part of the Evening Illuminations series AT 6PM - $20.

The seventh annual Luminato Festival takes place from June 14-23, 2013. Tickets for all Luminato Festival 2013 programs will be available for sale beginning Saturday, April 20. For details, visit luminatofestival.com.

Photo by Elaine Mayson

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